Pump for oil-wells.



R. S. FUTHEY. PUMP FOR OIL WELLS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1l. 1905.

PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ROBERT S. FUTHEY, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

PUMP Fon OIL-WELLS.

ne.V 880,019.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1908.

, Application i1edMay 11. 1905. Serial No. 259.373.

and for pumping heavy, hydrocarbon oils with which water and o1l` sands are commingled; and the primary obiect of theinvention is to provide means for preventing the sand and-water from working up between the pump plunger and the working barrel, and thereby reventing the cutting'of the` working barre or lunger so as to cause the pump to leak and ecome inoperative.

, In the o eration of oil wells, particularly in thedrillmg of oil wells in southern Califorma, great difliculty is experienced owing to the presence of more or less water and sand which are pumped up with the oil, and the water and sand working up between the plunger and the working barrel, and resulting in the cutting out of the plunger and working barrel and causing the same to leak. To ob- A.viate this difficulty, l have desi ed a pump 1n which the working barrel an plunger are packed with a fluid acking, for instance, oil, whlch will prevent t e sand and water workmg up around the plunger and working between the plunger and Working barrel.

.Primarily, the invention consists in provlding'the working barrel with an enlarged extension at the upper end which may be lled with oil.

The invention further consists in means for unseating the standing valve andpiston valve when 1t is desired to permit theoil in the pump to flow back downinto the well and clear the valve seat. The invention consists further in the constructions and combinations of parts-hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims, and will be more readily understood by reference tov the accompanymg drawings forming part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is alongitudinal, sectional view of aI pump embodying` my invention, the same kbeing shown 1n a well casing. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing my lmproved means for unseating the standing valve and piston ymy pumps connected for use in a well, por- 'main chamber 12 of the cage.

valve in the pump, such means bein shown in the .position the same assumes w en the ump is in operative position for pumping.

ig. 3 is a similar view showing such means in` position holding'the valves off their seats. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view on line 934-464, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a cross sectional viewon the line :t5-t, Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a view of one of tions of the ap aratus and well casing being shown inlongitudinal section to illustrate the construction', and portions of the pumping apparatus being broken away for clear-1 ness.

As shown in Fig. 1, the working barrel of the pump made up of two sections of pipe 2, 3, the latter being of the larger diameter. These two sections of pipe are connected together by a reducing collar 4. The lower end of the working barrel is provided with the usual shoe 5 in which is mounted the standing valve-cage 6 having a standing-valve 7. The valve ca e 6, valve 7 and the valve seat thereof may e of the ordinary or any preferred construction.

The ump plunger is preferably made up of a ho low section 8 adapted to work within the part 2 of the workin@ barrel, and connected at its upper end with a nipple 9, which nipple 9 has a centralduct 10 of considerably less diameter than the diameter of the plunger 8. The upper end of the nipple 9 is threaded and adapted to receive the lower end of a valve-cage 11, which cage is formed with an imperforated, peripheral wall wlth a series' of ducts or passages leading into the 14 represents a valve in the chamber 12 adaptedto seat in the valve seat 15 at the upper end of the duct 10. Theu'pper end of the cage is internally threaded' to receive the end of the pipe or casing 13 forming an upward hollow extension o the hollow plunger 8. It is thus seen that with this form of ump the oil drawn up through thestan ing-valve passes into the cham er of the hollow plunger and is not permitted to again come 1nto communication with the working barjel of the pump after having passed into the hollow plunger, so that the only necessity for packing the pump is to provide against the sand and water working up between the interior of the section 2 ofthe working barrel and the section 8 of the hollow plunger. This I accomplish by filling with oil or other liquid the chamber 16 formed between the inner y surface of the section 3 of the working barrel and the outer periphery of the plunger. It

.will be understood from Fig. 6 that the chamber 16 inside the working barrel 3 extends' approximately the height of the lift upon the plunger; viZ., nearly to the outlet 39 of the pump. This oil slowly'works'down between the periphery of the section 8 of the plunger and the interior surface of the section 2 of the working barrel, and prevents any sand and Water working up therebetween, and by thus packing such working barrel and plun er it as been `found in actual experience wit my I `pump in oil wells that the life of a'pump so constructed is very much lengthened and have been able to pump wells in which it was impossible to use any of the pumps heretofore constructed, because -of the presence therein of large uantities of sand and water which work up etween the Working barrel and the plunger and cut the surfaces thereof, causing the same to leak and ruining such' pumps for actual use.v In some of these wells the` pump of ordinary construction would not last eight hours, while pumps of my construction have been continuously operated for twenty-four hours a dayu for over three weeks steady run.

f In Fig. 2 I have shown the same means for ward through thetop I:the rod is the "form of a curved Wing corresponding to the shape of the valve-cage packing the working barrel a ainst the action of sand and water, and have a so shown means vfor unseating the standing-valve and permit-l and ada ted When the rod-is depressed to slide inv etween the valve 7 and the wall of the cage 6 and cause'` the valve 7 to rise away vfromthe valve-seat 21, permitting the oil in the pump to flow downward through 'such valve-seat 21. The wing 20 at the inner side of its lower edge is beveled or rounded, as at 22, so that the samewill more readily pass between the ball valve and thecage and cause thevalve to rise.

f The upper end of the'rod 17 is vconnected by means of afcollar. 23 with an extension 24 of the rod adapted toextend through the duct 10 and raise the lball 14 from the valveseat -15 when the pum pluner is lowered to cause the standing-va ve-to 'e held open, it

r being necessary that both the'valve 14` and the standin -valve 7 should be open in yorder to permitt e free passage of the-oil downward out of the pump.

The collar v23 is provided with a series of.

projections 25l on its upper face, these proj ections-being spaced. apart to form oil-ways26,

so that when the under surfaceof the nipple` 9 contacts with the top of the lugs or rojections 25 (as shown in Figf3), theoil owing downward through the duct 10 may iiow out through the ducts 26. When this valvein contact with the valve-seat 21, thus reventing any possibility of either brea 'ng the wing 2() or ruining the valve-seat 21. This means is preferable in the form of nipple 27 adapted to screw into the lower end of the section 8 of the plunger, and provided .with shoulders 28 adapted to butt against the end of such section. This nipple is rovided with acentral duct 29 and wit a series of lateral ducts 30,0pening at the side, l

of the nipple 27 and below the lugs or shoulders 28, so'that when the nipple 27 rests on top of the cage 6, as shown in Fig.` 3, the oil` may flow down through the duct 29, out through the lateral or side ducts 30, through the open ducts 31 of the valve-cage 6, and thence through the seat 21 thereof.

In Fig. 6, I have shown one of my pumps connected up in. an oil well. In this view, 32, 33, represent the several sizes of well-casin which have been used in drilling the well an casing the same. the casing'head 36, and the extension 1,3 of the plunger is shown as operatively connected with the end 37 of a -walking-beam',and as having an outlet through thetee 38 and pi e 39'.

n use, oil-is poured down the casing 3 formin the extension of the workin barrel until tlgde same is substantially `fille .to the top. It will be noted that the oilpumped from .the well through the hollow plunger-is Above the platform 35 is l delivered to the sump-hole or other depos'itory without anyo portunity of any such oil working or lea 4ng into the chamber formed 'by the extension 3 of the working barrel. 4 -The'enlarged extension 3-of the working barrel has an im erforate peripheral wall from the top of t e well down to prevent mixture of. the fluids outside the working barrel with the liquidl packing within said extension. The liquid kept free from gritty su stances, being supplied wholly at the top of the Well through conducting means leading from a suitable supply, not-shown. J

make no claim herein to 1. A pumping apparatus having a hollow plunger of av length to extend outside the packing is therefore well, a working barrel therefor havin a snugfitting lower portion, a liquid pac 'ng receiving chamber having an imperforate wall about a portion of said plunger above said snug-fitting portion, means being provided for supplying liquid to said chamber, a valve `interposed in said plunger, a standing valve at the bottom of said working barrel, and means for reciprocating said plunger; i

2. The combination with the working barrel; a plunger in said barrel, a hollow sucker rod connected with the plunger, said plunger being provided with assages for the movement of liquid throug it to the sucker rod; and means for maintaining a column of liquid above the plunger;

Nor to 3. The combination with the working barrel; a plunger"` in said barrel, a hollow sucker rod connected with the plunger, said plunger being provided with passages for the movement of liquid through it to the sucker rod; and means for continuously delivering and maintaining a column of liquid above the plunger Nor to 4. The combination with the working barrel; a plunger in said barrel, a hollow sucker rod connected with the plunger, said plunger being provided with passages for' the movement of liquid through it to the sucker rod; and means for continuously delivering and maintaining a column of liquid above the plunger to make a column approximately the height of the lift;

Nor to 5. The combination With theworking barrel; a plunger in said barrel; a hollow sucker rod connected with the plunger, said plunger' being provided with passages for the movement of liquid through it to the sucker rod; a tubing connected with the working barrel approximately the height of the lift and surrounding the sucker rod7 said tubing being adapted to maintain a column of liquid on the plunger;

Nor to 6. The combination with the Working barrel; a. tubing extending from the Working barrel to approximately the height of the lift, aiplunger in the working barrel, said tubing being adapted to maintain a column of liquid on the plunger; means independent of the tubing for conveying the liquid to be pumped from the Working barrel; and means for continuously delivering liquid to said tubing.

Having thusf described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A- pump having a hollow plunger, a working barrel therefor, a valve cage in said barrel, a ball valve in said cage, a valve in said plunger, and a rod mounted in said valve -cage and provided with a wing adapted to engage said ball to move the same from its seat, said rod being normally held in raised position and provided with a portion adapted to contact with the plunger.

2. A pump having a holloviT plunger, a working barrel therefor, a valve-cage in said barrel, a valve therein, a valve in said plunger, said valve-cage carrying reciprocating means for unseating said valves, said means normally out of engagement with said valves and adapted to be operated by the extreme downward thrust of the plunger, and means carried by the plunger adapted to seat on said valve-cage and limit the downward thrust of the plunger.

3. A pump having a hollow plunger, a working barrel therefor, a valve-cage in said barrel, a valve therein, a valve in said plunger, a rod mounted in said valve-cage and provided with a wing to unseat the valve therein, said rod normally held in raised position and provided with a portion adaptedto contact with the plunger and with a portion extending into said plunger and adapted to unseat the plunger-valve when the plunger is in its extreme lower position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California this 3rd day of May 1905.

ROBT. S. FUTHEY. \-In presence oi s FREDERICK S. LYON,

JULIA TowNsEND. 

